Local weaver Gordon Stevens is pictured with the barn loom that was donated to the canal association by Conner Prairie Pioneer Settlement. Stevens has been coordinating the project to put the loom back into working order. Comet photo by Jennifer Archibald Comet staff report

The Wabash and Erie Canal Association received an unusual three-harness loom last December as a donation from Conner Prairie Pioneer Settlement, south of Noblesville.

The original structure of the 200year-old cantilevered barn loom is in excellent condition and was quickly assembled. A new seat and treadles already had been hand-made and arrived with the loom; however, Gordon Stevens, local weaver and Canal Board member, soon ascertained that several critical pieces were missing, including the reed and all parts of the heddles.

Fortunately, Dorothy and Ron Baker of Lafayette became interested in helping to complete the loom and put it in working order. Dorothy is president of the Lafayette Weavers Guild. The Bakers took on the task of making 900 string heddles ("eyes" which carry the warp) and extra rollers to hold two of the three moveable parts. To complete the restoration, the craftsmen borrowed most of the missing parts from two other looms stored on Canal Park property.

Loom restoration Dorothy Baker, pictured, and her husband, Ron, made 900 string heddles for the canal association's loom. The heddles were missing when the association acquired the 200-year-old loom. Photo provided Over a two-day period, the Bakers worked with Stevens, Bill and Pat Draper of Delphi, and Susan Feller, educational coordinator at the park, warping the loom while they explained the function of each part. The Bakers also provided all of the thread used as warp and weft for the project.

In April, Cindy and Bill Ruesink, who are three-heddle loom specialists from Madison, visited the canal with Pat Thalhauser from Decatur, Ill., Margaret Spear of Charleston, Ill., and Kathy O'Neal from Gary. All are weavers familiar with a wide variety of looms.

The five visitors, along with the Bakers and canal volunteers, were able to hang the heddles and rope the treadles in the proper arrangement to produce a working three-heddle loom, ready for the weaver to begin producing a type of early fabric called "jean." "Jean" was used to make work clothes that were not only rugged, but could easily be kept clean by boiling without shrinking the fabric.

Visitors may see this unusual loom in the Livery of the Interpretive Center at Canal Park, Delphi. Open hours are Thursday,

Friday and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.